The director who made A Night to Remember, the 1958 film recounting the final night aboard the Titanic, has died, his son confirmed today.

Roy Ward Baker died peacefully in his sleep at a London hospital on Tuesday. He was 93.

His son Nicholas said that preparations were being made for a funeral in London, adding that his father's work "speaks for itself".

Ward Baker, who was born in London in 1916, started out as an assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes in London in 1938. After serving in the army during the second world war, he went to Hollywood, where he directed Marilyn Monroe in the 1962 movie Don't Bother to Knock.

He later returned to England where he directed a number of television dramas including The Avengers, The Persuaders and Minder.

During the latter half of his career, Ward Baker directed a number of British horror films including the 1970 flick The Vampire Lovers, as well as Scars of Dracula, which was followed by The Vault of Horror in 1973.

He returned to television during the late 1970s and 1980s before retiring in 1992.